The objective of the proposed randomized trial is to compare two methods of providing nutritional rehabilitation to patients with advanced head and neck cancer: Intensive nasogastric tube feeding vs. optimal oral nutrition. The overall goal is to evaluate the effects of aggressive nutritional support on the patient's ability to tolerate and respond to radiation therapy and, in some cases, chemotherapy, as well as its effects on recurrence and survival. Questions to be studied include differences in caloric and protein intake, weight, amount and duration of therapy, and severity of reactions to therapy; taste and smell impairment during therapy; the pattern of recovery of taste and smell following therapy and the effects of zinc therapy on this recovery; techniques for improving patient nutrition, both orally and extra-orally; and the long-term consequences of aggressive nutritional support during short-term therapy. Patients will be randomized into two groups: one will receive optimal oral nutrition and the other nasogastric feedings in addition to optimal oral nutrition. Both groups will receive support for an 11-week period. Thereafter, both groups will receive identical oral nutritional support for a two-year follow-up period. Patients in both groups will also be randomized into groups receiving zinc therapy or a placebo to assess the role of zinc in the recovery of taste.